黒い緑の幸運な楽しみの喜びの女の子
by Bangle of Darkness
Summary: When everyone goes mad, it's up to Lucky Galchio to defeat the devil himself! But will her personal demons ruin her before she can save the day? And will she ever uncover the truth of who her parents are? LuckyBobby, LuckyRaz, and LuckyOC in later chaps.
1. Underclass Hero

AN: So it's my first story ever! I'm SOOOOOO happy to have this up! I just know everyone will love Lucky like I do, even if there's not a lot of action/adventure going on in this chapter. Just wait, I promise it'll get really action packed in the next chapter. ^__^

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It was a gloomy day at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp when Lucky decided to sneak out, unknowingly almost becoming the victim of a plot far bigger than herself.

Of course, it wasn't her idea totally. Austin was to blame, with his stupidly brilliant ideas. "If you hate this place so much, why don't you go swim across the lake or something?" her best friend had grumbled at her, annoyed, only to cringe as she gasped. "I was kidding." Nonetheless, she was out of there like a bat out of hell. Screw this place, screw the teachers, screw the other kids. Why did they have to be so vicious? All she'd done was show up, and BAM! she was public enemy number one. A barrage of insults revolving around her name left her twitching, and a bunch of quips about her lack of telekinesis had made her desperately want show those jerks what a few good confusion grenades could really do. "Telekinesis is the most basic thing ever!" Kitty had sneered. "Even Dogen can do it!" Lucky felt her cheeks redden even now. Still, she was too logical to fight back, even if that voice in her head wanted to.

Telekinesis. Bah, like it was useful or something? The only other person who could confuse people was Raz, and it was his last power! No one seemed to comment on her rare, long mastered power, the one none of them had. It was like the other kids had gone insane in the past day. Mind you, before that, they were fine. There was a surprising amount of making out, but they were otherwise pretty normal. Now they were turning on each other, hurling insults and comparing powers and having all out fights with each other. Only Raz remained sane, and he was called away on official Psychonauts business with Lili, leaving batshit insanity in their wake. Lucky was too mature to get involved in the petty fights everywhere around camp. Instead, she was going to go somewhere nice and quiet, away from all of them, and wait this whole shebang out. Like she'd be stupid enough to feud with other kids her age. Like they knew anything.

Why did life have to always be so hard? All she wanted was to make friends. She had, here, then it had all fallen apart. It was just like her brother said. 'Everything eventually decays'. Everything had fallen apart. Each person she'd thought she was on good terms with had turned from her, treating her with the same unbridled anger they now directed at everyone. No matter what, it seemed, she was doomed to sit back in the shadows, unknown and too controlled to defend herself. A part of her wanted to throw confusion grenades at them until they had seizures and then run. A part of her wanted to teleport away whenever things went wrong. But she wasn't going to be that way, she told herself. She was going to be a Psychonaut one day, and they didn't do those things. Psychonauts didn't run from their problems or solve them with violence. Sure, this wasn't the easiest place to be, yelled at and insulted by every other kid. That didn't mean she should sink to their level.

_Go throw a confusion grenade at one of them and say that again!_ the voice in her head argued. _I gurantee you, one ass kicked and you'll realize just how stupid you're being. You could probably take them if you ambushed them, Rukki-chan. You're like a bomb when you go off, blasts everywhere and invisible and a terror. We could take out everyone who's wronged you, you and me, and you could be top of your class by default..._

**Ignore him, Luckinata! Think about what Raz would say if that happened!**

Lucky smiled to herself, shaking off the voices in her head for a moment. Raz believed in her dream of being a Psychonaut. He believed in everyone's dreams, actually. He was such a sweetheart that way, and it did wonders for brightening up her mood. Granted, the first night he'd been just as freaked out by her as everyone else. An insomniac by nature, she'd been up all night running around trying to find psi challenge markers and cards. In her head, she thought that maybe she could get her rank up and learn telekinesis, but so far Ford Cruller refused to teach her as 'punishment for runnin' around all night'. Whatever. At least she got to meet Raz, the legendary Psychonaut, away from everyone else. That was worth the trouble, quite frankly. His presence made it worth it to hold back Shadow Luck in her head. She couldn't dissappoint him. He was her kindred spirit. Besides, she had promised herself that she would never be weak and let a little thing like schizophrenia control her. Psychonauts didn't have that kind of problem, and Lucky was definitely going to be a Psychonaut.

The waters of the lake were cold as the nine year old arrived, and in fact the sand seemed to be almost frozen together. The day was unseasonably cold and decidedly omninous. Dark grey clouds hung in the sky, waiting to shower the camp with yet another bout of rain. Lucky absent mindedly noted that Milla was still on the docks regardless, helping a few kids with their levitation. Immediately, Lucky ducked out of sight. Milla Vodello always acted strangely around her. She didn't hate her - could Milla ever hate anyone, honestly? - but she seemed supremely uneasy and disturbed by the girl's presence, which baffled Lucky. Lucky wasn't an unusual looking girl, no more so that any other child at this camp, yet Milla was always refusing to make eye contact with her and spoke in a very un-Milla like, clipped tone when the girl was around. Honestly, Lucky didn't see what was wrong with her. Her green eyes were just like Milla's, as a matter of fact, so why was the Psychonaut so edgy around her? It left the nine year old feeling very unwanted and out of place.

In any case, this threw a wrench into the running away plan, which had been pretty vague to begin with. The easiest thing to do would be to wait for Milla to leave in a few hours. Until then, however, there wasn't much to do, so the Psycadet found a rock to sit on and pulled out a book to read. She wanted to learn German, but it was much harder for her than any other language. Her tongue just couldn't seem to make the sounds. Now, Spanish, that was easy. Lucky had picked that up easily while traveling with the Galochio Circus - a lot of the people in the freak show spoke it. French was a bit trickier, but a year of studying and she had it down. Japanese... Lucky froze, memories streaming through her. Her Japanese classmates laughing at her accent, calling her gaijin. People staring at her everywhere she went. The glares. The whispers. Running away had been all she knew to do, damn the people who were going to adopt her. She felt her eyes well up with tears at the memories, and snapped her book shut, shaking her head. No, she wasn't going to dwell on this. She wasn't going to be a crybaby over the past. Other kids did that. She didn't. She was better than that, more mature. She forced her mind back to the present, ignoring both the voices in her head begging her not to. They said there was something important in her head, something about the chosen one, but Lucky shut her eyes tight, focusing on the situation at hand.

The lack of light did nothing to keep her from examining her own face in search of an answer to what she refered to as her 'Milla problem'. The mirror of the outhouse showed nothing she hadn't seen before. Pale, porcelain skin, a heart shaped face accented by a pointed nose, and deep set almond shaped eyes. Though she wasn't sure how, even here at camp she hadn't tanned, her smooth, flawless skin refusing to change pigment from pure snowy white. Her eyes were identical to Milla's, just as her thin limbs were. Black, messy hair flew into her eyes in what had once been an excellent bowl cut that, after monthes of not being maintained, fell shaggily into her eyes, covering them at times. The jagged edges of the razor she'd used to cut her hair still remained in her raven locks, creating a wild sort of look that suggested heavily her background in the Galochio Circus. When using her confusion and levitation powers, her eyes glowed a green-yellow that even she had to admit looked scary at night - no wonder all the students had been afraid of her great power when she got here. Her black, sleeveless hoodie fell to her knees, and her black pants, too, were a bit baggy. Ah, well, she'd grow into them. Absent mindedly picking at the arm of one of her black and neon yellow-green striped armwarmers, she sighed. The yin half of a yin yang pendant hung around her neck, the last memory she had of her biological parents hanging upon it. Fingering it gently, she tried desperately to tear her mind away from the thought of her parents death, and returned her dark, street wise gaze to the mirror. No matter how many times Lucky looked in the mirror, she didn't see what set Milla on edge, and it was driving her insane. All she wanted for her levitation teacher to not hate her. Was that so much to ask?

At a loss, she went back to her cabin, where Austin sat waiting, his chubby, round figure familiar as the sun rise to her after a few days as his cabin mate. He raised an eyebrow at her and she flopped down on the bed face first, but didn't comment on the downtrodden expression marring her heart shaped face.

"What happened to the escape plan?" he questioned as she flipped over onto her back. "I thought you were going to go ride off into the sunset to make your fortune."

"Milla happened, desu wa." Lucky sighed, meeting Austin's chocolate brown eyes with a tired look in her own green ones. "She hates me, desu wa. I can feel it, I can see it, and I just know she's thinking it, desu wa."

"No she doesn't, she's MILLA," Austin retorted. "The day she hates someone is the day Sasha Nein sells off all the children to the Chinese slave trade, moves to Sweden and begins taking opium rectally."

Lucky wasn't sure whether to laugh or stare at him, so she chose to keep talking instead. "Everyone here hates me except you and the new Assistant Instructor, desu wa." She blinked. "Where is the AI anyway, desu wa?"

"Family emergency or something, she had to leave," the brunette replied from his bunk, then returned to the first subject. "We could probably go hide in the cave by the cabins, if everyone's still acting crazy. Then we can try running away later."

"We, desu wa?"

"Yes, we. I'm tired of everyone fighting to compensate for the fact that they haven't hit puberty, and I'm tired of Oleander yelling at everyone to compensate for the fact that he'll _never_ hit puberty," the twelve year old snapped. "I swear, one more announcement over the loud speaker and I'm going to spam him with a bunch of Rule 34."

As they headed out of the cabins, the air thick with moisture, Lucky asked, "What's Rule 34, desu wa?"

He rolled his eyes at her internet-naievety. One day he'd have to get the poor girl a laptop and some wi-fi. "Don't ask."

So they set up inside the cave, which was honestly something of a sanctuary for Austin when he couldn't stand the noise and stupidity of his classmates. Then again, most people registered as 'stupid' in his mind right now. He had stocked the ice box, brought some books in and settled by the end of the first day. By the beginning of the second, Lucky had decided she liked standing around in the cave listening to unwary camper's conversations. By the end of the third day, they'd formed an agreement that when they couldn't stand people, they'd meet here, drink Monster Energy and talk about everything and nothing. Lucky was grateful to have him as a friend, even if he got in trouble with Milla all the time for swearing. (Sasha, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind that much.) Austin handed her a can of Monster Energy, and they clinked cans.

"To Milla having the first known case of Luckyphobia."

"To your fluffy curly hair, desu wa."

And so preoccupied giggling was she, she didn't notice the way his cheeks turned deep red at the comment. She never seemed to notice the crush he had on her, actually, although everyone else saw it. Lucky was just a bit oblivious when it came to people sometimes. Having never had a crush of her own, she tended to miss those obvious signs everyone else saw. On top of that, her skeptical nature led her to not believe most people on instinct. It would take a real declaration of true love to get her attention, Austin mused. He'd have to get to her before Bobby Zilch did. Ugh, now, HIS crush on Lucky was bordering on stalkery, and really, would a pretty girl like her ever end up with someone as obnoxious as he was? Lucky didn't seem to mind his lisping and spitting, though. She was too sophisticated to be rude to someone for minor things like that. Yet she was still enough of a child to sit here and have a pop with him. Austin felt hismelf smile against his will. She was really something special.

Little did they know, as they sat there chuckling and swigging caffeine, something evil was about to unfold. For plots are dark and evil as what was brewing in Whispering Rock inevitably explode, and when they do, there can be no peace on this earth.


	2. Walking Disaster

AN: Okay, the desu wa thing is CLEARLY a nod to Bubbles of PowerPuff Girls Z. -rolls eyes at self- Yeah, it's s nerdy reference, but I swore I saw some mutual PPGZ and Psychonaut fans of LJ, so I thought someone'd get the reference. Way to not take a joke, guys. Also, as Wikipedia will tell you, it is a mini phrase often used at the end of sentences by women in Japan to establish an emotional connection with the person they're speaking to. Normally women use it when they're older, but it's not unheard of for young kids to use it, kinda like how I love you is used more often by young people in Japan and with less seriousness than that of adults.

And it is NOT unreasonable for Lucky to know all those languages. I knew that many by age ten, so why can't she by age nine and a half? Think outside the box, people. And, uh, the eveyrone being on edge thing? It's called plot, and it happens for a reason. What was I supposed to do, explain everything in the first chapter? God, you people are impatient. Oh, and Lucky DOES have flaws. She can't do telekinesis and she's totally oblivious when it comes to technology.

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When Lucky and Austin emerged from their hangout, which Austin often affectionately referred to as their Anti Reality Chamber, it was several hours later. This being summer, it wasn't quite dark yet, though it was darker than usual, and the two children began to plot their escape. Austin was deadset on having dinner before attempting escape, so he parted ways with Lucky at the cabins so that she could go pack for them. (Austin always took too many snacks, as evidenced by him showing up at camp with one outfit and twelve bags of chips.) Packing was a nightmare as far as he was concerned, but Lucky was used to fast packing, having lived in a circus for so long. The familiar activity soothed her mind, allowing her to think.I don't trust this Austin kid, Lucky.

_Why the hell is he always so nice to you? It makes no sense, especially with everyone going insane around here. I think it's a trap._

Lucky snorted. "Yeah, right, desu wa."

**I'm with Luckinata on this one, Shadow. He doesn't seem the kind to turn evil on us. Projection, much?**

_Bite me, Hikari. I'm just trying to keep the kid safe. And Bobby didn't seem that bad the summer he was in the circus, and he turned around and stabbed her in the back the second she got to camp. If he can be a totally different person here, Austin can, too._

Lucky rolled her eyes. Austin was just a harmless psychic nerd with a love of potato chips that went unrivaled. "You're just being paranoid, desu wa."

**Maybe Shadow's desperate for attention. Let's quit talking to him and see if he cries and listens to MCR in his downtime.**

Lucky laughed at that, finishing packing with a grin on her face. Of course, Shadow was now suitably pissed, and he protested wholeheartedly, but she shut him out. Honestly, the two of them deserved each other, and though she knew she shouldn't talk to the voices in her head, they were like old friends at this point, albeit old friends who couldn't get along for five seconds. Shaking her head at their umpteenth argument today, she brushed her ebony tresses out of her eyes and went off to find Austin so they could leave. He had to be done with dinner by now, right?

The evening was cold, almost freezing, and again Lucky wondered why the weather was so unseasonably cold. Walking briskly, breathing into her hands, Lucky had to wonder if something was wrong. There were no campers to be seen. No Kitty and Franke collecting arrowheads, no Dogen apologizing to the squirrels, no Nils peaking into the girls cabins with renewed vigor after having been successful last night. It was a silent world, deprived of even animal noises. Not a single bird could be spotted in the entire camp. Struck with the sudden thought that something might've happened to Austin, she broke out into a run, mind racing, only to crash headfirst into Milla.

"Milla-san, I'm so sorry, desu wa," Lucky immediately burst out, backing up several feet. "Gomenasai gozaimasu, I was in a rush-"

"It's alright, darling," Milla said softly, sounding worried and rushed herself. "Have you seen Sasha, by any chance?"

"Not since this morning's class, desu wa."

The Brazillian's face just fell, and she ran off without another word. Her terror redoubled, Lucky rushed off again, this time on her levitation ball, sure that Austin was in trouble. If Sasha Nein went missing, that should be taken as a red flag that things were going to go to hell in short order. When polite and gentle Milla couldn't spare a few words for anyone, that meant things already had gone to hell. Lucky felt her heart sink when she opened the doors to the Main Lodge, only to find that it was empty. For a second, her mind ran through the possibilities. Death, torture, kidnapping, terrorists, psychic terrorists - until she heard the TV, and practically dove onto Austin's reclining form.

"Austin!" she squealed as his arms wrapped around her on instinct, "You're alright, desu wa!"

"What's wrong, did Vernon start molesting kids in their sleep again?"

"Everyone's missing, and Sasha's disappeared, desu wa," she replied, not noticing the blush appearing on his cheeks as she continued to hug him. "I was so scared you were gone too, desu wa."

"What do you mean, everyone's gone?"

"They're just gone, desu wa! I can't find anyone anywhere!"

Austin stood, helped her to her feet and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Then I suggest we get the hell out of here before whatever got them violates us with a pencil sharpener, films it and puts it on YouTube. Come on, Shorty, we're going across the lake."

He had his hand in hers and had pulled her out of the Main Lodge before she had the presence of mind to ask, "Why across the lake, desu wa?"

"The road's surrounded by forest. We'd be pretty easy targets out there, like Coach Oleander at a Weight Watchers meeting. Now, come on, I think I heard-"

And then it all went black. Lucky hadn't fainted, per se. She could see and hear, but everything was suffocatingly black and quiet. Her hand slipped from Austin's, and she reached out only to find air. Spinning around, she saw nothing, but in the back of her mind, she felt a presence, dark and forboding, so evil it made Shadow look like a Boy Scout. The darkness threatened to choke her, invading her thoughts like a virus. Everything was wrong, wrong, and it was all getting so hot. She reached out for Austin, and blindly found him. Yet even as she latched onto him, he was falling, choking and gasping like she was. Everything was burning, scorching. She was going to die, and Austin was, too.

"Austin!" AUSTIN!" and Lucky, lacking any other ideas, slapped him so hard her own hand ached from the motion, desperate to snap him out of it. "Wakaranai!"

"Rukki?" He was shaking her, but everything was dark and she couldn't see him as she began to scream in pain as heat seared through her body. Her eyes darted from side to side, unseeing and yet desperate to see something, anything. "Wake up, damnit, I'm not gonna punch a girl!" But she was shaking and screaming too hard to hear him, so cringingly, begrudgingly and ruefully, he decked her. The impact threw the slender girl onto her back, and she gasped. For a second, there was a dark figure above her, eyes gleaming red and seemingly made of smoke and shadow, and she screamed, teleporting ten feet away on instinct. As if it was startled to have been seen, its six diamond shaped eyes widened, and it vanished, turning into part of the sky. Just like that it was gone, and Austion stood above her, worried.

"Austin?" she whispered, looking at him as she stood on shaking legs. "What was that, desu wa?"

"I have no clue," he replied, shakily running a hand through his hair, "But now I'm SURE you have to get off the camp grounds."

"Me, desu wa?"

"Yes, you. I'm going to call for help on the Coach's radio, now that he's fixed it, and send out a distress call to the Psychonauts from Sasha's lab. You've got to get out of here now before something horrible happens to you." He stated firmly, handing her the backpack. "Try to stay in the shadows, and get across the lake as fast as you can. Don't stop for anything or anyone, just go."

"But what about you, desu wa? I can't leave you with whatever the heck that thing was, desu wa!" she protested, staring at him in shock.

"Look, someone needs to be alive and outside the danger zone to tell the Psychonauts what happened. I'm the oldest kid in the whole damn camp, so I can take care of the technical stuff," he reasoned. "And I can go hide in Anti Reality Chamber. I'll be fine there. Whatever it is, the kids cabins look untouched, and besides," he smiled warmly, ruffling her hair, "You're like my kid sister or something. I can't leave YOU here to be killed by the fiery ghost of Godzilla's bastard child."

And he couldn't. Every time he looked at her soft, heart shaped face, his heart tore at the thought of her being hurt. She was the first person he'd ever met who got his sense of humor. She laughed at his jokes, understood his ramblings, didn't mind his swearing. She was one of the few people in his life who he really enjoyed being around. So even if he wasn't sure what he could do, he would keep her safe, like he would've if he'd really been her big brother. She was like family to him (in his own mind, anyway). Though his cynical humor threw people off every now and again and made them think he was a jerk, Austin actually had a bit of a soft spot for kids younger than him.

She sighed, not meeting his eyes as acceptance knawed at her brain. "You're deadset on this, aren't you, desu wa?"

"Yeah."

Her arms wrapped around him as she gave him a watery eyed stare that made him feel even more guilty for leaving her than he already did. "Aishiteru yo, Austin, desu wa."

"And I've grown fond of you, Shorty." With that, and a parting push, Lucky was off to the lake, and he was off to the kids cabins.

**Still think Austin's a jerk, Shadow?**

_Honestly, Hikari? We're in way too much trouble to argue, and I never thought I'd say that._

"I'm scared, desu wa."

**_I know_**, they whispered back, and Lucky stifled the urge to cry as she broke into a frantic run down the beach, visions of Austin swimming before her eyes. He was gonna be okay, she told herself with every step. Austin will be fine, Austin's got a plan, the Psychonauts will come and save us. The Psychonauts will come and save us. Her emerald orbs couldn't hold back the tears streaming down her cheeks. Austin was out there all alone and she should've gone back for him but she was sure he was right. Someone had to be safe and sane enough to tell the Psychonauts what happened, and he was going to have to hide after sending out for help. It had to be her. No one else was in their right mind enough for this except her, the eternally unlucky Lucky.

So as the wind blew her razorcut raven hair everywhere and the waves bobbed her canoe up and down so fast she nearly got whiplash, Lucky made herself a promise that she would bring back help for Austin no matter what, because whether or not she liked to admit it, he had become her best friend the second they'd met, and that kind of bond was irreplacable. There could be no room for failure here. She would find out why everyone had gone crazy and vanished, she would find out what that was back there, and she would find help for the incredibly brave (if a bit too humorous) Austin. There could be no room for self doubt now, only success. And if Raz could face worse odds and come out of it a Psychonaut, she could come out of this in tact.

"Guys, I can do this, desu wa," she whispered, and their support warmed her as she made her way to the place where sane people went to go mad, where no hope dwelled even now it's broken state, and the ghosts of the past ripped at those who dared to approach it...

The Ruins of Thorny Towers.

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AN: Okay, so the action is next chapter. I just had this done on my comp, so I decided to post it instead of writing the bigger, more grandiose super mega chapter I had planned. Anyways, I'm off to piano lessons. (Ode to Joy is a bitch.) Reviews are love, by the way. And don't worry, I'll post a the action filled kickass chapter of death wherein Lucky just loses it and goes off to kick ass and take names later this week, I promise. I just didn't want a looooooong chapter. (It would've been, like, five thousand words and not all that climatic. Trust me, this is awesomer this way!) ^__^


	3. Speak of the Devil

AN: My New Years Resolution is to update every single day. It's a tall order, but I think I can do it. I just have one question: Are my chapters too long? My beta says they are, that chapters shouldn't be longer than 1000 words, but my mom says that it's keeping the chapters the same length that's important, no matter what the length. Most people here have a lot of fics, what do you do when it comes to this? I Google'd but didn't find anything at all! D:

**__**

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Lucky had always just known things.

When she had been two and found by the Galochio family - which she remembered incredibly well despite her young age - she had known they were a good family. A bit over bearing, but they were good people. When she was in Japan on the disasterous, short lived Young Student Exchange Program that was now defunct, she'd known her classmates were jerks and good people simply from looking at them for a while. She knew Milla was Milla before she'd be introduced, because that air of positivity was so like what she'd been described as in True Psychic Tales that no one could not know who she was. And now, huddled on a canoe in the middle of a lake, Lucky knew who the creature before had been. The very thought struck terror into her, and she hunkered down lower, trying not to panic.

All she'd ever wanted was to be a normal psychic. She wanted to be like everyone else and be good at telekinesis and rotten at everything else. She wanted to look plain and have her eyes stop that strange glow they had so that she wouldn't scare people every night. She wanted to be a normal Psycadet and go through normal training and go home. But fate had grander plans for her, and now she was in a place under siege. The campers suddenly turning on each other, the unbridled anger surging through some of them and the completely random depression the others had, the counselors disappearing, the strange attack by the main lodge - everything was adding up, and she wished it wasn't doing so. She just wanted to be trained and go home. Instead, she was here fighting...

_Say it, Lucky._

"It can't be him, desu wa." She shook her head. "If it was, someone else would have noticed, desu wa. The Psychonauts-"

_Are eons away, and denial won't do you any good. You know who we're fighting, we're going up against-_

"No, no, no, NO!" she screamed, covering her ears as if that would block him out. "I can't take him on, I can't, I'm not that tough, I'm not ready-"

_That doesn't make reality go away. Luckinata, YOU'RE FIGHTING SATAN._

And Lucky crumpled to the floor, clutching her head, shaking silently because she knew, she just _knew_ that he was right. She didn't want him to be. She didn't want to do this. She couldn't do this. Tears leaked out of her eyes uncontrollably as she shook uncontrollably, desperately pretending it was all a lie and it wasn't so.

_Lucky? I think it's time for Rushi to take over._

"N-no, she'll..." Lucky shook her head, struggling to sit up. "She'll kill everyone, s-s-she can't c-control herself, desu w-wa."

_Lucky, look at yourself right now and tell me she isn't a better choice, honestly._

**Lucky, Rushi's more insane than the entire camp put together on crack. Do NOT let her out, ever! Remember what happened last time? The death toll, the investigation, the bodies? You can't-**

_She has to. LOOK at her, Hikari! She's about to lose it again, and we don't need another suicide attempt on our hands! Damnit, I just want the kid to stay alive. What do you want, a dead Lucky or a living Rushi? Luckinata, listen to me and only me. Has there ever been a fight Rushi couldn't win, an argument she couldn't end, an obstacle she couldn't beat? She's a better psychic than you and a better fighter than you and you're about to slit your wrists if you don't let her take over. Please, Lucky, just admit you need help. I don't want you to die!_

Shakily, Lucky nodded, and curled into a ball as her canoe hit the shore of the island. For a moment, there was nothing to her, and she was a hollow shell. Then, in a flash of yellow-green eyes that lit up the night and a sudden growl, she stepped onto the shore, ripped her armwarmers off her arms, shoved them into her pockets and clenched her fists so tight the knuckles turned white. Spitting on the ground, she snorted derisively at the frayed rope ladder, and teleported her way to the top, glaring around for a moment before porting around. Rocks, debris, concrete, green water... And an opening in the rocks, big enough for an adult to get through. Placing her ear to it, she felt rather than heard Bobby Zilch's voice. Lucky would have greeted him with a smile and a hug. Rushi was in no mood for such pleasantries.

With no pretense, she teleported to where he was and hit him so hard with a psi beam that he flew back into the wall and slid to the bottom like something out of a cartoon. Grabbing him by the collar of his oversized jersey, she hauled him off the ground and positively glowered at him.

"I should have known you were behind this, you jackass. Where is everyone?" when she got no response, her eyes narrowed dangerously and he could practically feel her tapping into her confusion powers. "Trust me, if I have to beat this out of you I will in a goddamn heartbeat."

"What's gotten into YOU?" he asked, only to be thrown against the wall as she whipped a confusion grenade from out of nowhere. "Holy crap! Put it down, Lucky, I ain't done nothin'. I'm just hanging out in this tunnel I found to get away from whatever that thing is at camp, I swear!"

She watched him a moment before nodding, and the green glow vanished from her hands. "Where is everyone?"

"I don't know! I went to Sasha's lab for training, but he was gone, and then I got back to the woods and Benny and Mikhail were gone, so I came down to the docks and that loser Elton was gone too." He cringed. "I'm gettin' worried, to be honest. I think they might've been kidnapped."

"No shit, Sherlock," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "When did everyone go missing, roughly?"

"I don't know, like half an hour ago. Why are you being such a jerk?"

"That's not enough time to have gotten everyone," she muttered, ignoring him. "There's got to be someone left besides Austin and me." Then, in the first real hint of the old Lucky in her tone, she added, "I'm sure Austin would have some comment about it either being Oleander or the butler, knowing him."

Bobby stared at her. "Lucks, you feeling alright?"

"What the heck does THAT mean?" she snapped, glaring him down. "You're the one who was nice to me for the better part of this week and then decided it was funny to beat me up and rob me!"

He flinched back from the accusing tone. "The guys think you're weird. I didn't want to be the freak with a crush on Glowilicious."

"Well, congratulations! You fail at life," she informed him shortly, teleporting up the surface and sitting behind a pile of rocks higher than her head. Turning, she called after her, "I'm going to use the technique Sasha taught me to go to the mental world and see what I can do. Try not to blow everything up while I'm gone."

And he could only nod, too stunned by the sudden about face in personality to do anything more than stare.

It was amazing how beautiful, it disturbing, Rushi was compared to Lucky. She was pretty in a dangerous sort of way. Black widow pretty. Scorpion pretty. There was something so enticingly on edge and broken about her. She could kick so much more ass than 'I-am-too-mature-for-this' Lucky. Bobby wanted her. Well, no. He wanted to bully kids alongside her. He always knew Lucky had a bit of a split personality to her, and that summer he'd spent in the circus had shown him the wrath and fury of a confusionist pushed to the edge. She was the only person on Earth he'd ever honestly been scared by. Was this awe what Benny felt when he thought of Bobby? He just wanted to waltz up to whatever it was at camp alongside her and kick ass and take name. With that gleam in her eyes and that glare to her face, it was so clear to him she was ther one, yet he was too intimidated to say anything to her.

Other than "Good luck, Lucky," to which Rushi cracked a demented, vampire toothed smile.

Like she needed luck?

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Lucky had been the youngest person ever introduced to the concept of psychic transmeditation, followed closely by Raz, but she'd never done it, too afraid of falling into someone else's mind on accident. Rushi, on the other hand, held no such fear. Besides, this wasn't some fun YAYS IMMA JUMP INTO YOUR MIND NOW playdate. This was a mission to find help for the abduction (and let's face it) possible murder of thirty five campers and at least four adults. So, gritting her teeth and shoving every last stray thought of hers away, she let herself fall into the mental world as easily as if she was sleeping.

She knew it was Austin's mind because of the smell. The whole place reaked of him, in an oddly horrifying way. Wrinkling her nose, she opened her eyes, and even dark hearted Rushi had to gasp at the sight of Austin's mind. She knew he liked potato chips, but to have his entire mind be made of food was a bit much. Still, she stood upon a salty, golden tan potato chip road lined on both sides with Snickers chocolate bars. Houses made of jerky and pocky lined the streets with yards of licorice as hoses made of tomatoes spewed out Monster Energy soda. A man made of tofu was shot by a walking jumbo shrimp, who began to eat his brains as Rushi watched. Dogs made of hotdogs sniffed each other's butts as bird shaped cookie flittered from tree to tree.

_This isn't right. Either Austin's insane, or whatever made everyone else insane has hit him, but this isn't right._

**Agreed.**

"I'm gonna let Lucky take this one on," Rushi muttered, shaking her head. "Her empathy and telepathy are better than mine. All I know is that this is _messed up_ more than anything I've ever seen."

_Forcing Lucky to do all the Psychonauts work is a bit harsh, don't you think?_

Rushi growled. "Well, if little miss self control would grow a backbone, we wouldn't have that problem, don't you think?"

Then Lucky was back. The astral projection pitched forward as if hit, and her body de-tensed as her calm, emerald eyes opened to behold the crowning jewel of Austin's psychosis: the cheese palace. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Austin couldn't be insane, he just couldn't be. He was sane, if a bit cynical. He'd always been so normal and he hadn't gone nuts like everyone else had a day ago. A terrifying thought struck her: what if he'd been driven mad by whatever that thing was? What if he was in danger, his sanity and soul at stake? Only she could save him now. There was no one else available. Setting her leafy orbs on the cheese castle, she moved forward without hesitation. Austin needed her. Nothing could ever keep her from him from her, near, far, wherever he was.

Yet somehow, as she headed into the palace, she just knew it was a trap...

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AN: Oh my god, did you see what I did with the first and last lines? That was sooo clever and it happened on accident! I really must be getting better at writing, huh? I feel so proud of myself for two chapters in one day. I'm like the next Stephanie Meyer. (I love her books so much. One day, I want to be published and have a series of books just like her, even though I know I've never written anything as long as what she writes. So I'm like chibi-SM or mini-SM or something. Oh well. I'm sure I'll get better with time...)


	4. Count Your Last Blessings

AN: Okay, I'd like to take a moment to address a very rude reviewer. You know what, if you don't like my story, that's your business. Unlike you, I support freedom of speech. But to insult me so bluntly, without any constructive criticism? You really _are_ an asshole. That was uncalled for and if you hate so much, there's always the back button. We're 4 chapters in at this point. If you think it's bad, DON'T read it! You're really not being funny you know, and I'd say more but then I'd be sinking to your level. I hope you realize it's my story, and if I continue I'll be doing it for me, not you. Jerk, you're lucky I don't report you for harrassment! And for you, little miss 'Satan is ridiculous'? Uh, no, he's not. He's the ultimate villain. He's behind every major villain in the world and he's entirely focused on ruining lives. How is that ridiculous? Sounds like a damn good villain to me!

Anyway, I had a bout of 'I'll never be as good as a published author' depression, so I got some coffee and put on the Psychonauts soundtrack and set out to prove myself wrong. I **WILL** keep my New Year's Resolution and write every day, I **will** become a published author one day, or at the least I'll try my best. This chapter is my pride and joy because it was so hard to write, yet I got it done on time anyway. I feel proud in an odd, look at what I've accomplished sort of way... Even though it's much shorter than I think it should be. But no one can say I'm a bad author - three chapters in one day is EPIC and you all know it.

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Lucky had been told once by Sasha Nein that the insane's minds would warp drastically if they were near psitanium. Indeed, this seemed to be the case for Austin, whose mind was light, cheerful, brightly colored and rather pleasant (if odd) until she set foot inside the palace. Up until that point it had been a reflection of his light hearted, food loving personality. The moment her booted foot passed through the doorway, however, the world itself seemed to warp all around her, leaving a dark, unlivable place in its wake. Spiraling columns of slate soared upwards infinitely towards a ceiling she couldn't make out in the darkness. The floor was stain glass patterned, but purple and marroon and without any real pattern. A few faint red torches lit the room surreally well, as this was the mental world and the lights heeded no system of logic. The scent of dust was all around her, and she got the impression few people, if any, had been here before.

Each delicate footstep echoed in the darkness, every step connecting loudly with the stone like glass. Each movement generated a chilling shuffle in the darkness, just outside her line of vision. Unable to make out what it was, she readied a confusion grenade at her side, unsteadily glancing from side to side out of her almond shaped eyes. In a sudden flash of movement, she felt rather than saw something dart in and out of the circle of light the torches created. With one sweeping motion, she threw her grenade skillfully, hitting the creature dead on. Only it didn't even pause in the slightest at the blow, and instead began to approach her. Its steps made no sound, its lack of a head scaring her more than its immunity to her confusionism. The bloodied stump where its head should have been turned towards her, and it gurgled loudly. A lesser girl would have shrieked or ran, but with amazing calm and admirable peace, she began frantically lobbing grenades at it as fast as she could. It wasn't the most elegant or tactical solution. Still, it was all she could think of. She wasn't Rushi, she couldn't think of amazing solutions to every problem.

It took, according to Sasha Nein's studies, varying amount of confusion grenades to knock someone out. Five worked for children, eight to ten for adults, and sometimes Psychonauts (or Raz) had enough mental defenses to always stay conscious, if dazed. The gurgling, blood red creature took twelve before it stopped walking towards her, and twenty before it began to sway on its feet and act confused. As her arms ached and her mind begged her to stop, she continued hitting it, terrified to stop and too tired to continue. Her entire body ached, and finally her legs gave out beneath her after the seventy third attack. It was longer than she'd honestly thought she could last, but too little too late, as the creatured roared.

The deep pitched roaring became high pitched laughter in mere seconds as the four legged animal convulted, standing up on its hind legs as its very shape morphed into something vaguely human, with disturbingly long limbs and smooth orange skin. Its six diamond eyes glowed, not from power but from sheer evil, striking terror even into the fearless Psycadet. She shook just standing in his presence, feeling the raw evil radiate from him like a heater. His grin revealed golden, spiked teeth, the kind that would even make vampires shudder, and he stood at least eight feet tall. Yet his perfectly tailored white tux fit him like a glove, accenting every beautiful inch of unnaturally perfect muscle. He laughed again at her, more condescendingly this time, and Lucky's mind shut down as she realized who he was.

"Good evening, Luckinata. Although I do think you prefer to go by Lucky, if I'm not mistaken?" he tittered when her only response was to blankly stare straight through him like a ghost. "Ah, well, you never were the most stable child. But Shadow and I can discuss that later." He moved closer to her, then began to pace dramatically, hands clapsed behind his back. "I must say you did quite well for a mere child. Much better than your family, certainly. However, I am afraid I cannot tolerate people attempting 'rescue' missions of any sort, as laughable as they might be. So I am afraid that, as entertaining at it would be to let you continue on with your little heroic tale, I must end you now, Miss Lucky."

His hand clasped around the fabric of her hoodie, he lifted her high off the ground. Her head flopped like a rag dolls, her body limp and weak in his arms. Lucky had no will to resist. Shadow and Hikari were absent to what little was left of her consciousness. But deep within her, fighting her way to the surface like a caged animal, Rushi was screaming, "You aren't gonna take me, ya weakling!" and Lucky's eyes flickered, wobbling back and forth as Rushi essentially smacked the girl to the side, emerging with a gasp as Lucky's eyes turned from emerald, foresty green to the color of sunlight streaming through the leaves.

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" she screamed, and hit him with a confusion grenade so intense it could have killed a human. As it was, he barely dropped her, and she tackled him, clawing at him with psychic fists and causing his hair top errupt in flame as she knee'd him in the stomach again and again, screaming incoherently all the while. The flames of the torches errupted into pillars of fire and her eyes glowed so bright they could have outshone the sun as Rushi fought deperately to kill him. Her classmates, her sister, those men from that cult - she had killed them all and felt nothing for it, so she thought far less of killing Satan, the worst being ever to exist on this earth.

"Oh, you'd like a fight, Miss Lucky?" and his hands seized tightly around her throat as he laughed. "Well, fine. We'll see how well you do when you have no past experiences to draw strength from!"

And then he merely pressed two fingers to her forehead, and she was falling, falling, spiraling into a sea of darkness. The dark was not of him, of evil, but rather of sleep. Her mind gave in to the desire to rest as her arms and legs became deadweights and she collapsed on the floor, her vision spiralling. Her eyes flickered from dark Milla green to light yellow green, back and forth as the personalities fought to surive. Rushi and Lucky were being choked, killed, one of them was going to die. They fought for air, for consciousness, and then Lucky sank back into nothingness, asleep deep in their subconscious, and Rushi was left alone and cold on the floor.

Except it wasn't the floor of Austin's mind, but rather, the cold concrete surface of the ruins of the asylum. There was a boy standing over her, shaking her, attempting to get her to say something. Her mind felt heavy and thick as her hands reached out to grab his. He hauled her to her feet, only to find her lithe body couldn't support itself as she tipped over into his arms.

"Lucky? Lucky?!" he shook her. "Hey, say something. Anything!"

Her confused stare drove home her next words. "Who's Lucky?"

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AN: Yeah, I know it's short, but I really wanted to work in a good cliffhanger for the next chapter. And I promised myself I'd update daily, so it's not like I'm some kid writing teensy chapters/drabbles once a week or something. XD You'll see the next chapter tomorrow, or maybe even today if I can. I'm dedicated like that.


	5. Ma Poubelle

AN: So-ho-ho, my friend asked to be in the story. And I love her, so here she is. Hey, bet you didn't think I'd get it up so quick, huh? XD Anyway, you're in here because I -know- you're not a Sue. I see you every day, and you're as down to earth as can be. Hopefully that'll help get people to stop ganging up on me so much, even if I did alter your hair and eye color a bit. (God, I'm sick of everyone's rudeness and the freaking name calling in this section. Ten bucks says one of these kiddies cries because of some minor detail like your initials or something.) Honestly, I'd stop writing with all the crap I'm getting if I wasn't so fascinated with integrating you into the Psychonauts universe. Thanks for inspiring me. (And I mean that.)

Also, someone PM'd me and made me realize I don't have a disclaimer up. So, DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely nothing other than Lucky Galochio and Austin. All other characters and places mentioned are property of Double Fine. And I'm not making profit off of this. I'm not even really having fun with this anymore, to be honest. :(

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In, and out. In, and out. The slow, melodic breaths of the young magician girl unknowingly kept pace with the rocking motions of the caravan as they rolled along to the next destination. Tomorrow night was another performance in front of a packed crowd, but that wasn't what bothered her. Rather, it was that her little sister hadn't called, and it was almost midnight. Opening her eyes, she bit her lip in frustration. Lucky was homesick as could be. She called all the time and talked to everyone. When most of the day passed without a phonecall, her sister was perturbed. When the evening passed without it, she was concerned. Now that it was the dead of night and Lucky hadn't even emailed her to say hi, her sister was outright worried. Their father had chuckled benignly and told her it was nothing to be concerned about.

"Tell you what, Crystal, if she does not call by two, you call the camp and see about talking to her, yes?" he asked in his thick accent, and she'd nodded acceptingly. Then, anyway. Now she was so worried she could hardly meditate.

Of course, this wouldn't be the first time that Lucky forgot to call for a long time with a stupid excuse like a sleepover (AN: Remember when you did that? Yeah, not amused, C.) or hurricane force winds (AN: okay, that was valid.) Still, she paced and counted the boards in the ceiling and bit at her nails for the next thirty minutes before she decided to call Lucky anyway, not caring whether or not she burned through her cell minutes. She wasn't selfish.

"Lucky, pick up," she muttered to herself, drumming her perfectly painted black nails on the hard oaken table as she glared at her brickberry disdainfully. "Don't make me tell dad what happened to his black leather pants the last time we played DDR..."

As if Lucky had heard her threat from afar, she picked up, fumbling audibly with her own brickberry for a moment. "Mushi mushi?"

"Lucky, are you okay? You sound weirded out."

"Um, who are you?" Lucky sounded confused. "You sound familiar. Did I go to the camp thingy with you?"

Bobby snatcher the phone out of her hands. "Hey, 'sup. My name's Bobby, and Lucky's gone crazy. She doesn't know who is an stuff. But I'll fix her, I swear."

"Who are you, exactly?" She took a shakey breath deep inside, and released it gently. "I want to talk to a camp counselor, NOW."

"I can't find any of 'em! No one can. We've got a situation ripped from comics going on here. And I'm Bobby Zilch. I'm in - I mean, I'm at the TOP of Lucky's class here." He grinned to himself. He was _so_ smart. "Who're you?"

"Krystaleena Nathatilda Diotiguardi Galochio, big sister, unofficial babysitter and best friend of the total nutjob otherwise known as Lucky." She sighed. "How is she, other than being out of it? She's okay, right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. But we're stuck on an island in the middle of a lake, and we're kinda screwed."

Krystal drew herself up to full height, and though he couldn't see her, he felt raw confidence eminate from her as her face hardened into an expression of eloquent determination. "Stay there and stay safe. I'm bringing help," she added as she shrugged on her navy blue leather trenchcoat and pulled her cerulean, silver buckled steel toed boots on. "Tell Lucky her big sister is coming. Even if she doesn't know me, it might help her to know I'm there in spirit."

Bobby's voice shook, for the first time in years. "Are you bringing the Psychonauts?"

She snorted. "I am the Psychonauts, bitch."

With that, she hung up, pocketed her phone, and jumped out of the caravan, landing in a roll. Pushing her glasses, which were identical to Sasha's but blue, up onto the bridge of her flawless face, she silently began to run for the camp, not knowing how she'd make it but knowing Lucky would be okay. She could sense the flirtationship between her sister and Bobby. Why else would he be helping her out, unless they were the only one's left? Either way, her twin was in trouble, and no power on Earth could keep her from her beloved sister as she ran with a speed she'd never known she could achieve, legs aching and sides burning as her breath came in gasps, but still she wouldn't stop. Lucky was all she had left of her biological family. Hell itself couldn't keep her from coming to the rescue.

_Lucky..._ Tears blurred her eyes, which were grey with a harsh gold hint to them in the light, giving the illusion of mirrors, akin to a cat's reflective eyes. She shut her unusual orbs for only the briefest of seconds, envisioning her sister when they were children. The mental image of five year old Lucky slitting her wrists on rocks because their brother had told her it would end the pain haunted Krystal. Collapsing onto the ground, out of breath and grieving, the anorexically thin nine year old collapsed onto the side of the road and sobbed. No one understood Lucky's mental illness like her twin. No one else even seemed to know what she had! People kept saying it was schizophrenia, but ever since the apparent murder of their parents, Krystal was well read enough to know that it was a combination of many things, and the knowledge her sister was out there with yet another problem made her want to lay there and cry until she woke up and found out it was all a dream.

Yet she stood, the wind rushing through her inverted bowl cut hair, which was the color of Mountain Blast Gatorade with streaks of metallic fushia in it. Lucky had done her hair. Lucky had cut her hair. Lucky had spent every talking to her sister about the future. Now it was time to make the future a reality. The wild currents of air blew her hair into a frenzied mop of blue as she used her pyrokinesis to lift her into the air, raising the air temperture so much it lifted her and scorching several trees in the process. Looking for all the world like a fallen angel, she flew off to Whispering Rock, vowing silently to find her sister, even if she had to down a hundred moccha frappuccinos and fly all night to save her.

In a way this was just like all those shoujo mangas she had drawn. There was a heroine, flawless hands were involved, and there would be a happy ending, she was sure. She chuckled at the memory of she and Lucky drawing manga and watching anime. Lucky was a major fan of One Piece, but her sister was an even bigger one. Krystal had the lines of the Kingdom Heart manga memorized, so deep was her love of it. Little Luckinata would translate out loud the raw Japanese versions and Japanese language manga while her sister would listen, fascinated. They came up with stories together, Lucky providing all the good plots and Krystal providing all the details that make manga shine. The two of them had once spent three days without sleep watching Shaman King and Naruto while drinking coffee. It had been nerdy, sure, but it was so much fun Krystal's heart ached at the very thought of it now.

"Lucky, hold on," she whispered to her, doubling speed even as the heat threatened to overwhelm her. "I'm coming, kowoii ja nai."

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"Bobby-chan?" Lucky asked, innocently poking him in the shoulder. "What's my sister like?"

"She's a junior Psychonaut," he told her, grinning widely. He'd decided good news was better than none, and to leave out the bad parts of Lucky's past when she asked. Certain things, the carrot haired boy decided, were not meant to be remembered. She was better off this way. "When you two were little, she saved you from the fire that killed your parents. You probably don't remember because you were so young."

Images of flames flickered in Lucky's mind, but quickly vanished. "Then what happened to us?"

"Well, nobody knows for a while. A circus took you guys in when you were two, and then you ran away when you were five. Your brother-" he froze, and Lucky stared at him, egging him to go on. "He died. You got really depressed. And your sister's always said you've been off since then. She thinks scientifically that it's the confusion grenades you put to your head to knock yourself out when you couldn't sleep. I think it's just 'cuz you were sad, but she thinks that's stupid."

Lucky absorbed this information with remarkable calm, though a bit of her mind told her this wasn't quite right. Still, she was unable to find any lie in his tale, per se. It just struck her that there was something off about the story so far. A thought struck her, and she turned her innocent, virtuous orbs on him questioningly. "How do I have a name if my parents are dead?"

"Well, you named yourself Lucky. Krystal called you Luckinata to be an ass, and you liked it so you kept it. The Galochios chose the rest based on what sounded nice, I think. Krystal actually had a shirt with her name on it that night, so that's where her first name comes from. Sometimes she calls you 'Rukki'."

Lucky blinked slowly, tilting her head. "Ruk-ki?" she intoned like a small child. She felt she should feel annoyed by that, but why? "Why that?" she wondered aloud.

"I dunno. Cuz she can, probably."

"How do I know you?" she asked quietly. "You're my friend or something, right?"

"My dad let me go to circus camp one summer. I hung out with you guys, did psychic tricks, you know, that kinda stuff. We got to go all kinds of places together and we got to be buds. Then I didn't get to see you for a long time, but I never forgot you. You helped me master confusion grenades and tight rope walking."

Her jaw dropped. "I can walk on the tight rope?"

"Yep. Your whole family can, you're in the circus!" And he laughed as her eyes lit up as if she'd been told she could fly. She answered his mental, unspoken question with one of her own.

"Am I psychic?"

He nodded.

She grinned widely, a little kid's innocent, carefree smile, and plunked down to put little rocks in the streams of green liquid and make dams and other such tasks reserved for someone not yet out of second grade. "Well, then I don't have to worry about anything! If you're psychic and I'm psychic and my sister's a psychic and she's bringing OTHER psychics, everything's going to be fine. All we have to do is try not to be bored, right Bob-bob?"

He smiled and laughed awkwardly. "Sure. Totally. That's exactly how these things work."

In his head, he added, _I hope._


	6. With Me

AN: Okay, I cannot believe I'm actually having to say this, BUT THE OOC IS ON PURPOSE. Remember the part where Lucky was putting everything together and everyone becoming a ten year old jackass was mentioned? Remember the parts where again and again I've mentioned everyone acting odd and Satan's prsence being felt at roughly the same time? This isn't all coincidence. Satan's presence made everyone a jerk or naieve or depressed and although I know IT WAS ON PURPOSE, GUYS is usually a lie used to cover plot holes, in this case I thought it was genuinely obvious and indeed I did make everyone more than a little off on purpose and for a reason.

On that note, the only person who will be unaffected by Satan is Vernon. Because he's still telling stories even now. I just can't picture him stopping his monotone, grating voice even if cosmic forces were at work. (And admit it, on some level it makes sense to you, too.)

Also, side note, the disclaimer in the previous chapter goes for all of them, this entire story and everything that comes out of my mouth that is Psychonauts related.

And it's short but I'm depressed so I'm kind of not in any shape to write right now. I'm trying, though...

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Flying via pyrokinesis was an unstable art at best, and a draining one at worst.

While the sheer adrenaline of a missing and clueless family member could and had propelled many people to super heroic feats, that adrenaline only lasts so long and eventually Krystal ended up walking the last half a mile at what she had to admit wasn't exactly a fast pace. The thing was, even she wasn't stupid enough to go in without a plan. Her Junior Psychonauts entrance exam described her perfectly: Good with planning and details and contigency plans that went into ungodly amounts of details, but when it came to thinking on her feet, she lost all expertise. This was a situation that called for immediate and effective action. Calling in all of her Psychonauts instructors, emailing them and having them forward the situation to HQ immeadiately had taken ten minutes, minutes which she spent huddled in some diner in the middle of nowhere scarfing down pancakes between every other phonecall. There would be, she knew, a full Psychonauts UPA (Unknown Psychic Anomaly) and PBOP team (Profession Battle Operative Psychics, commonly nicknamed the Blow It Up Squad by their fellow agents). There would soon be professionals here to handle the fights with whatever it was plaguing the camp. Krystal didn't pretend for an instant she could go in there, kick ass, defeat the monster and come home with her sister slung over her back dramatically. That was only something maybe Rushi or Raz could have done, and even then it would be iffy.

No, her job was to get her sister and come home. Although technically only two minutes older, Krystal had always been the protective, loving member of their little family of two and to her it went without saying that Lucky needed to be rescued. By her. Immediately. The problem was that, so wrapped up in planning everyone else's rescue, her ideas on saving Lucky were basically 'be stealthy, get in, get out' which was absolutely pathetic to her.

However, it was all she had going for her, so stealthy she was, invisible and ducking under things and by things and on top of trees and buildings. Every second dragged by like detention as she imagined what it would take to abduct everyone in camp almost simultaneously. Every image she came up with wasn't pretty, but there seemed to have been no sign of a fight whatsoever, which was somehow more unnerving since it left her without any ideas. Honestly, she'd rather have several vague and distressing guesses than none at all. Yet whatever it was that had ripped everyone from existance had either left or apparently wasn't interested in her, as she found her way to the lake without any trouble. That was the thing, though. Where were the bears? Where were the cougars? For that matter, where were-?

"Caa?" it was a seagull, and he was curled up, hiding under a bush. "Caaaaa..."

Brushing the lush green bush's leaves aside in a sweeping, anime like motion, she looked inquisitively down at it. Its feathers were covered in black goop, and it was unable to fly. Weakly staring at her as if she might hurt it, it tried to shift to the side, only to fall over. Krystal gingerly picked it up, wrapping it in her scarf, which was Monster Energy Low Calorie blue, she held him close to look closer at what the substance was. It was thick and waxy, odorless, and totally foreign to her. Although it seemed a bit irrational, she couldn't help but keep him with her. On the one hand, he was adorable and helpless, a combination children adore. On the other hand, being that he seemed to be the last living thing left at camp, he was probably crucial in understanding what had happened. She'd hand him over to the Psychonauts when they arrived, she decided as she tucked him into her backpack. His head stuck out, but he didn't peck at her. Rather, he seemed to hunker down as if resigned to his fate as she grabbed a canoe and crossed the lake.

No Admiral Cruller, really? No hulking shadow of the giant lungfish visible just beneath the surface, which might have been a trick of the light or might mean certain doom? There weren't even any lightning bugs, for Christ's sake. Really, this person had gone so far as to abduct the insects? This was getting to be absurd and a bit far reaching for a mere human, but since her knowledge of the paranormal went only as far as Vampire Knight, she could only shrug and continue paddling.

It was gonna be a long night...

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There was a cetain depression that came with having no memory.

There was a kind of worthlessness, not having a past. Not knowing what you'd done, what'd you'd said for so long made everything in present seem almost surreal. The past is the basis for who you are, for the personality traits and friendships and dislikes one has. Without a past, there is no anchor for the mind. There is no friendships, no causes for the likes and dislikes. There are no defining moments of growth, no fond memories of joy or harsh memories of pain to draw strength from. Without memory, everything is blank and dead inside, and Lucky's was the worst kind of loss, where there was nothing left. There was no Hollywood like joyous naivete for her, just a profound sense of loss as she sat there with Bobby, looking at the sky and waiting for everything to somehow magically repair itself.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Bobby asked her sheepishly. "I mean, not like I care or anything, but..."

"I'll live," she replied dully, cringing at her own lack of interest in the world. "I'll be fine."

She couldn't tell him what was going on in her head right now. The sense of loss, the sudden hatred of being alone with her own thoughts - had there been voices before? Other people's thoughts, maybe? She wasn't sure what they had been, but she was sure her head had been filled with sound at one point. Now it was silent as the night, and she couldn't help but shudder, wishing desperately for some sort of a guide in this mess of a situation they were in.

Little did she know, however, there was a guide coming. A guide named Austin.

And he came via the Collective Unconscious.


	7. March of the Dogs

AN: Okay, I've noticed this popping up in a lot of reviews, and I want to address it. My grammar and writing are only as good as they are because I'm really freaking working on it. Usually at this point there's a rough draft, a draft and a spellchecked final draft before I go over it one more time to re-make sure everything's fine. Another thing you need to realize is that I've taken reading and writing comprehension tests whenever they're administered by my school and my level on both is roughly that of a highschool freshman, probably because I devote so much time to reading. Thirdly, my birthday is January 5th. It's not like I'm just barely 12. That would make my level of writing awesome. I'm 13, however, and so I'm just kind of average. Please remember this before going gaspy gaspy woah at me in reviews. I'm flattered but I'm here to have my writing read and reviewed, not my birthdate. Also, YOU'RE EMBARASSING ME. -blushes- I'm not used to anyone saying my writing's good, mostly 'cause there's one kid in my class who can outdo me by a mile.

Anyway, I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE to update once or twice a week from now on! But once a day blew my mind and left me with bad bad BAD writers block. God I suck. In retrospect that was probably too lofty of a goal. But I'll try to be better from now on, I promise. :D

_**desuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwa**_

Austin had always been really good at creating things in the Mental World. Oh, reality still sucked for him, but he was great at summoning things to existance once he was in someone's mind. And so, surfing along the astral plane on a giant piece of bacon, he searched for the door to Lucky's mind. There was no real reason to assume it would be any one color, but he kept having the feeling it would be green. Those were his only talents: sensing things and bringing things into existance in the mental world. Outside the mental world he was only a precognitive, and a lousy one at that. Still, he wanted to find his friend, and that was good enough of a motivator that he managed to locate her door after about four or five minutes.

It was, as he had expected, green, and open, with none of the four small signs on the side lit up. Apparently it had been untouched; Lucky obviously hadn't gone in there herself, or with her perfectionist attitude all of them would be lit. He smiled to himself. God she was stupid, but damn if he didn't like her anyway. Entering, he found himself engulfed in familiar white light for a moment before his vision cleared. What he saw next disturbed him. Her mind was divided, between a small brick house with a green lawn, and a dark grey shed on black, shriveled grass. Thinking it was probably best to avoid the latter half of her mind, where he could see - actually, sense more than anything - things lurking in the background, he turned towards the house, and taking a deep breath, entered it.

Instantly he wished he hadn't, as a screaming, shrill voiced mini-Lucky threw herself at him. "Austie!" She was about four or five, and weighed nothing. Actually, now that he thought about it, she didn't so much hug him as she did hover. He waved a hand, and it went through her. So this wasn't Lucky, or even a muse or censor, but just a faint memory. "Austie! I missed-ded you!" she cooed.

He blinked. "Well, isn't that enlightening. Now, tell me, where are all the figments?"

"Figgy?" the child blinked at him, sucking on her entire hand naievely.

"You know, the see through creepy Freudian symbols Psychonauts run through because we hate sunshine and happiness?" He sighed at her uncomprehending expression. "Figgy go where?"

"Nya-!" She pointed out the window to the shed. "They're in the big house!"

Big house? If they'd been in the physical world, he'd have called her a dumbass. As it was, however, it was completely reasonable for the shed to expand in some loony way that defied the laws of physics. Detaching the leech like, drooling child from his side, Austin decided to go against every little bit of common sense within him and enter the shed. The second he set foot on the blackened grass, everything went cold. The mini-Lucky screamed. The sound morphed into nine year old Lucky's voice, as she shrieked and threw herself against the inside of the shed.

"Lucky? Lucky, can you hear me?" he asked, struggling with the stubborn, locked door. "Answer me, damnit!"

"Austin?" her voice was desperate. "Where am I? Where are you?"

"Help's coming," he told them firmly. "I called for the Psychonauts. They're coming. They'll get you guys out soon. I'm gonna go back to the Collective Unconscious and see if I can get in touch with Agents Nein and Vodello, or maybe Raz. They'll know what to do. Just stay right here-"

"AUSTIN!" Lucky screamed, and he heard her smash against the inside of the door. "Don't leave me!"

He cringed, and turned to do just that. For a moment there was a war in his own head. He wanted to stay here and talk her out of this panic, calm her down and hunker down until help arrived. But he had to find out what happened to the others. He had to make sure everyone was okay. It was the responsible thing to do. Austin sighed. He hated being responsible, then, if it meant this - leaving Lucky behind, trapped in her own mind. But wherever she was, she could be helped after this whole thing got worked out. Right now he had to make sure everyone had bodies to come back to when this was all over.

"I'll be back," he told her softly, and then he turned away. Maybe when he found Raz, he could help get Lucky out of there.

Still, leaving her was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

_**desuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwa**_

It was a rose.

No, wait, no it was not. It was lusher and fuller than any rose could ever have been in reality, with a darker hue than any Earthen rose ever could have had. It smelled like darkness felt, enticing and forboding, the scent wrapping around her until she was no longer breathing air but pure nature itself. The color shifted ever so slightly depending on how she tilted her head, from deepest cherished maroon to skylight red and everything inbetween, hypnotic, unyielding, forever. And it was precious to her, but not for its beauty. It was precious because of what it symbolized, what it was to her.

The parting gift. The final promise. The bond between her and her beloved. And it didn't matter if Raz or Sasha or even Milla were going to hell for this, because the rose had captured the essence of everything she loved in this life, everything she needed. It had been Lucky's. Austin had made it, and the two friends had pulled it from the mental world into reality together, proud and satisfied with such an accomplishment though it had drained them. Now it lay in her hands, and she sat watching it in flickering candlelight. Satan in her employ, nothing would stop her from success.

Lili smiled.

"You're mine, Lucky."

_**desuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwadesuwa**_


End file.
